A flat panel display is provided. The flat panel display includes a display panel, a light source module and an optical film. The display panel has a light incident surface. The light source module including a light guide plate which has a light emergent surface is disposed parallel to the display panel. The light emergent surface is opposite to the light incident surface. A light emitted from the light source module is transmitted from the light emergent surface to the light incident surface. The optical film is disposed between the display panel and the light source module. The optical film has a first surface and a second surface which are opposite to each other. A plurality of platform-shaped optical structures are formed on the first surface while each of them has a flat top surface. A first transparent glue layer and a second transparent glue layer are respectively formed on the light incident surface and the light emergent surface. The flat top surfaces are glued to one of the first transparent glue layer and the second transparent glue layer while the second surfaces are glued to the other.
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1. A flat panel display, comprising:
a display panel having a light incident surface, wherein a first transparent glue layer is formed on the light incident surface;
a light source module disposed parallel to the display panel, wherein the light source module includes a light guide plate having a light emergent surface facing the light incident surface of the display panel, a second transparent glue layer is formed on the light emergent surface, a light emitted from the light source module is transmitted from the light emergent surface to the light incident surface; and
an optical film disposed between the display panel and the light source module, the optical film having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, a plurality of platform-shaped optical structures being formed on the first surface to form a flat exposed surface, each of the platform-shaped optical structures having a flat top surface;
wherein the flat top surfaces of the plurality of platform-shaped optical structures are selectively glued to one of the first transparent glue layer and the second transparent glue layer while the second surface of the optical film is glued to the other of the first transparent glue layer and the second transparent glue layer, and wherein the flat exposed surface does not contact any one of the first transparent glue layer and the second transparent glue layer.
13. An electrophoretic display, comprising:
an electrophoretic display panel having a light incident surface, wherein a first transparent glue layer is formed on the light incident surface;
a light source module disposed parallel to the electrophoretic display panel, wherein the light source module includes a light guide plate, having a light emergent surface facing the light incident surface of the electrophoretic display panel, a second transparent glue layer is formed on the light emergent surface, a light emitted from the light source module is transmitted from the light emergent surface to the light incident surface; and
an optical film disposed between the electrophoretic display panel and the light source module, the optical film having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, a plurality of platform-shaped optical structures being formed on the first surface to form a flat exposed surface, each of the platform-shaped optical structures having a flat top surface;
wherein the flat top surfaces of the plurality of platform-shaped optical structures are selectively glued to one of the first transparent glue layer and the second transparent glue layer while the second surface of the optical film is glued to the other of the first transparent glue layer and the second transparent glue layer, and wherein the flat exposed surface does not contact any one of the first transparent glue layer and the second transparent glue layer.
2. The flat panel display of
3. The flat panel display of
4. The flat panel display of
5. The flat panel display of
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7. The flat panel display of
8. The flat panel display of
9. The flat panel display of
10. The flat panel display of
11. The flat panel display of
12. The flat panel display of
14. The electrophoretic display of
15. The electrophoretic display of
16. The electrophoretic display of
17. The electrophoretic display of
18. The electrophoretic display of
19. The electrophoretic display of
20. The electrophoretic display of
21. The electrophoretic display of
22. The electrophoretic display of
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This application claims priority based on a Taiwanese Patent Application No. 098122878, filed on Jul. 7, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flat panel display (FPD); particularly, the present invention relates to a flat panel display having improved flexibility.
2. Description of the Related Art
To compare with conventional CRT (cathode ray tube) displays, flat panel displays have the advantages of small volume and low power consumption. Hence, as the development tendency of nowadays electronic products focuses on the features of lighter weight, thinner thickness, shorter length and smaller volume, flat panel displays have gradually replaced conventional CRT displays and become the mainstream monitor product of the 21st century.
There are various types of flat panel displays, wherein the LCD (liquid crystal display) which employs liquid crystals is one of the current dominant products. There are many LCD related products in market. Besides LCD monitors, LCD televisions are getting popular as well. Furthermore, other flat panel display products such as ePapers (electronic papers) which adopt the electrophoretic display technology are also getting commercialized.
Besides the advantages of high display resolution, high color contrast, low power consumption, and low cost, the most significant characteristic of ePapers is that ePaper can be bent as easy as paper. Different from other flat panel displays, but like papers, ePapers can display images by reflecting ambient lights without the help of additional light sources. Most of all, the ePaper can retain the displayed images even after the power supply is cut off, hence the effect of ink on paper can be highly simulated.
Either LCDs or ePapers must meet a certain flexibility requirement. In order to maintain the relative location of elements of a display device to prevent displacement and deformation in case of bending the display device, the connections between the elements must be firm enough.
However, one disadvantage of the existing design is that the connection between the display panel and the light source module is not firm enough.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a flat panel display to overcome the above problems, so that the connection between the display panel and the light source module can be enhanced.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a flat panel display to enhance the light energy utilization.
The flat panel display of the present invention includes a display panel, a light source module, and an optical film. The display panel has a light incident surface. The light source module including a light guide plate is disposed parallel to the display panel. The light guide plate has a light emergent surface facing the light incident surface of the display panel. A light emitted from the light source module is transmitted from the light emergent surface to the light incident surface.
The optical film is disposed between the display panel and the light source module. The optical film has a first surface and a second surface which are opposite to each other. A plurality of platform-shaped optical structures are formed on the first surface, and each platform-shaped optical structure has a flat top surface. A first transparent glue layer and a second transparent glue layer are respectively formed on the light incident surface and the light emergent surface. The flat top surfaces of the platform-shaped optical structures are glued to one of the first transparent glue layer and the second transparent glue layer while the second surface of the optical film is glued to the other of the transparent glue layers. Such a structure enhances the connection between the display panel and the light source module, so that the flexibility of the display device is improved. Furthermore, the air gap between the display panel and the light source module is also eliminated to improve the light usability.
The present invention provides a flexible flat panel display. In a preferred embodiment, the flexible flat panel display of the present invention can be applied to various flat panel displays such as LCD, ePaper, etc.
As shown in
The light source 22 is disposed adjacent to the light guide plate 21 to provide light to the light guide plate 21. In a preferred embodiment, the light source 22 can be a light emitting diode (LED), a cold cathode fluorescence lamp (CCFL), or an electroluminescence (EL). In this embodiment, the light guide plate 21 is designed as a flat plate. However, in other embodiments, as shown in
The optical film 30 disposed between the display panel 10 and the light source module 20 has a first surface 31 and a second surface 32 which are opposite to each other. A plurality of platform-shaped optical structures 311 are formed on the first surface 31. Each of the platform-shaped optical structures 311 is formed as a tapered structure such as a cone structure or a structure with a narrower top and a wider bottom. The upper end of each platform-shaped optical structure 311 has a flat top surface 3111. Each of the platform-shaped optical structures 311 preferably has a same height, so that the flat top surfaces 3111 are substantially coplanar. In a preferred embodiment, the disposing density of the platform-shaped optical structures 311 can be varied across the first surface 31 of the optical film 30. For example, in order to obtain a uniform light distribution, the platform-shaped optical structures 311 can be disposed sparser near the light source and much dense at the positions away from the light source. However, in other embodiments, the platform-shaped optical structures 311 can be disposed with a consistent distance therebetween. In this embodiment, the flat top surface 3111 of the platform-shaped optical structure 311 is preferably glued to the second transparent glue layer 50, while the second surface 32 of the optical film 30 is preferably glued to the first transparent glue layer 40.
Because the tapered configuration of the platform-shaped optical structure 311 which has a narrower top and a wider bottom can direct the lights incident onto the display panel 10 to a positive direction, the tapered configuration can be applied to the electrophoretic display or reflective LCD panel of
Moreover, in other embodiments, a touch panel can be further disposed on the light guide plate so as to provide the touch screen function. As shown in
In a preferred embodiment, the optical film 30 can be made of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or other transparent flexible materials. The first transparent glue layer 40 and the second transparent glue layer 50 can be made of a material having a refractivity equal to or approximate to that of the optical film 30, so as to reduce the influence on optical properties caused by the difference in refractivity. Furthermore, the air gap between the display panel 10 and the optical film 30 can be eliminated through the first transparent glue layer 40 and the second transparent glue layer 50, so as to reduce the opportunity of transmitting the light among media of different refractivity and to obtain better optical properties. Besides, in a preferred embodiment, UV glue (e.g. ultraviolet curable resin) can be employed as the material of the first transparent glue layer 40 and the second transparent glue layer 50. However, in other embodiments, other types of glue can be employed.
Although the present invention has been described through the above-mentioned related embodiments, the above-mentioned embodiments are merely the examples for practicing the present invention. What need to be indicated is that the disclosed embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. On the contrary, the modifications within the essence and the scope of the claims and their equivalent dispositions are all contained in the scope of the present invention.
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